-----------------------------***----------------------------- >From the Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C. -----------------------------***----------------------------- The Surface Transportation Board (Board) announced today that its Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) has issued the Final Scope of Study (Final Scope) for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding the proposed acquisition by the Canadian National Railway (CN) of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJ&E) in the proceeding entitled Canadian National Ry. And Grand Trunk Corp.—Control—EJ&E West Co., STB Finance Docket No. 35087. Publication in the Federal Register will follow on Monday, April 28, 2008. SEA issued the Final Scope as part of its environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act. The release of the Final Scope now allows SEA to move forward with preparation of the EIS. Release of the Draft EIS is expected sometime late this summer. The Final Scope reflects issues raised, both orally and in writing, by the public and the cooperating agencies during the scoping process, and at 14 scoping meetings held during January 2008 in numerous locations throughout the Illinois-Indiana project area. The Final Scope also takes into account all comments received on environmental issues concerning the CN-EJ&E proposal. The Draft EIS addressing all environmental issues and containing recommended mitigation will be made available for public review and comment. A Final EIS will then be prepared reflecting SEA's further analysis and comments received on the Draft EIS. In reaching future decisions in this case, the Board will take into account the full environmental record, including the Draft EIS, the Final EIS, and all public and agency comments received. For further information about this case, telephone the Board's toll-free environmental hotline at 1-800-347-0689. Inquiries may be made in either English or Spanish. The Board issued its Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS and its Draft Scope of the EIS on December 21, 2007, and today's notice on the Final Scope for the EIS, in STB Finance Docket No. 35087( http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/WebDecisionID/38996?OpenDocument ) . The Final Scope is available for viewing and downloading via the Board's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov, under "E-Library," then under "Decisions & Notices," beneath the date "4/25/08." ### -----------------------------***----------------------------- If you have received this e-mail in error or wish to unsubscribe from STB News, please send an e-mail message to stbnewslistserver@xxxxxxxxxxx and place "unsubscribe stbnews" as the body of the message.
